Planooraph co



E. E. HAWKINS.

TENSION LUG FOR SILOS, 8w.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5. 19:1.

1,3 1 5, 1 1 9. Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

A TTOR/VEY srncrns PATENT. OFFICE.

ELBERT n. HAWKINS, or UNADILLA, NEW YORK.

TENSION-nus roast-nos, 8w.

Specification states en. PatentedSept. 2, 1919.

Application filed se temberaiew. :SerialNOL189f739.

To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, ELBERT E. iI-IAwKINs, citizen ofthe United States, andresident of Unadilla, county of OtsegO, and State of New York, have invented an Tmprovement in Tension-Lugs for Silos, &c., of which the following is a specification.

The object ofmy invention isto provide a yielding tension lug for hoops employed upon silo bodies and for other uses such as large tanks, etc., where there is considerable expansion and contraction duetothe varying temperature conditions.

My object is further to provide insuch tension lugs a simple and inexpensive construction, whichis easily manufactured at a loW cost and sufiiciently yieldingthat it will adapt itself to conditions to be met with in practice. Not only is i the lug made yielding in the direction of its length,but"it is also free to flex laterally to suit the curvature of the silo, tank, etc, and thereby lie close to the outside surface thereof and receive the tangentially extending ends of the hoop or band.

My invention consists of a coil springof steel rod, having its ends extended to a very considerable length and bent at their extremities to form loops or eyes through which the hoop ends pass and against which the nuts of the hoop ends press.

My invention also includes the employment of a loose link threaded lengthwise through the coil to limit its extension beyond critical limit of elasticity and thus prevent the setting of the spring by putting too much tension thereon when tightening the hoops.

My invention also comprehends details of construction which, together with the features above stated, will be better understood by reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of my improved tension lug applied to the hoop ends; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same: and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the tension lug removed from the hoop.

A is a coil constituting a spring, in which all of the coils normally rest close together, as in Fig. 4.. The ends of this coil are eX- tended in relatively long arms B, B, in substantial alinement; and the ends of these arms are bent into loops G, C, to constitute eyes which receive the hoop ends E, E. The

a rmsuB, B, are-not only in alinement with each other but arealso preferably arranged insubstantial alinement with the side of the 0011 A, so that When \the lug is stretched and resting agalnst the surface G of the silo or ltank, botlrthe coil and arms rest against the wooden surface off-he same and hence the lug, as a whole, assumes acurved shape commensurate w1th=thecurvature of the silo or tank,-be it of large or small diameter." slmilarly, itWill .be noted that the looped e'ndslC, C, lie in planesradial to the curvature andaxis orvertlcal center of thesilo or tank and'henceat right angles to thetangenltial ends E, E, of the hoop, as will bemore puttin'gzthelhoop under tension. w

:By having thearmsB, B, in alinementthe .-pull is directateach side and there is no tendency to twist the coil out of position, no

matter now much tension is i put upon it. t It will also be seen that when the arms may not be sufficiently long to permit the taking up of the hoop ends, said ends may extend into the coil A, as there is no obstruction. Furthermore, this alinement of the parts permits easy assembling upon the hoop ends, as the lug may be slid back upon one hoop end and after being alined, shifted in the opposite direction upon the other hoop end. In this case the nut may already be applied to the hoop end upon which the lug was first adjusted, and after its adjustment to the other hoop end, the nut of that end may be applied.

The tension lug is made of steel, but to prevent too much stretching with danger of setting, the coils and thereby losing the elasticity, I provide a limit link D which extends through the coil A and has its ends stop. ?.The capacityvfor contraction is always present, so that the lug will meet all commercial requirements in use.

I have shown my improved tension lug in the form which I have found best adapted for actual use and While I prefer the same, I

donotrestrict myself to the minor details, as it is'manifest'that these may be modified ing laterally yielding arms in approximate "aline'ment with each other and with one side only of the coil spring, the ends of said arms bentinto loops Whose planes are at Substanlvvhe'n so applied the apertu'resin the looped V tial'ri'ghaan'gles to the length of the arms and in which the alinement of the apertures 'oflsaid' lo'opsis normally in 'alinem'ent with theloops of the coil spring portions, said "arms-a d spring adapted'to bef'bent into a curve when applied to a tank-likebody and ends of'the arms assuming atangential ja'linement to the-general curvatureof the device;

2"."In a device of the characterstated, a coil spring-'having it'ends continued in two o'ppositely fextending horizontal and laterally yielding arms in approximate airline Icopies ot this patent nay be obtained tor ment with each other and with one side only of the coil spring and the ends of the said arms providedwith.loops, combined with a loose link threaded through the coil spring andbent over at its ends to form hooks for restricting the stretching of the coils of the spring, said link being of greater length than the unstretched length of the coil spring portions and arranged at the lower part thereof out of alinement with the arms.

8. In a device of the character stated, a tension lug formed of a coil spring having oppositely directed arms arranged in substantial alinement with the one side only of the coils of the spring and having their ends provided with looped portions transversally arranged and on the same side of the arm as the coil spring projects, said spring and arms when under tension assuming a curvature along their length, and a .hoop having its ends tangential to the curvature of the tension lug device and extending through thevlooped ends of the arms 'so as 'to point outwardly and away from the spring coil, and nuts screwed upon the ends of thehoop and presslng upon the looped ends of the arms to stretch and curve the tensionlug as a whole.

lIn testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

ELBERT E. HAWKINS. Witness:

C. C. Moore.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

